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i am about to sell a relatively inexpensive electric guitar online without a case. any tips on making a quick and light "packing crate" for it? i'm thinking of using some furring strips and cardboard i have laying around, for starters....please don't tell me helpful stuff like "buy a case for it" or "you shouldn't ship it without a case".
thanks in advance

Go to a local music store, and see if they have any used cardboard boxes shaped to fit your gtr.

Buy a case for it. You shouldn't ship it without a case.

Just kidding. Check the local music store. They will have boxes. Pack it tight with newspaper, bubble wrap, peanuts of any kind, and off you go.

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PMoMC

Dont pack it with newspaper, bubble wrap or peanuts and expect UPS to pay a claim if damaged. Go to their site and read their packing requirements.

ok i'll try to shoot in to Guitar Center, but i suppose they are probably the least likely to hand out boxes to people due to "corporate policies" and such....

Phone first , ask vy politely

I like to wrap the instrument in bubble wrap and use slices of styrofoam insulation board on edge to stiffen the sides and top and bottom of the box. Making the box an odd shape may help keep things from being stacked on top of it during shipment.
If you want to make a "packing crate" I would suggest using 1/8 inch plywood for the top and bottom and 1/2 inch pine for the sides. Make a simple trapezoidal shape, with a "base" side piece that can be unscrewed to remove the instrument.

Wrap the guitar in bubble wraps completely first. Place it in a paper box (get this from guitar center). Then fill remaining space with foam peanuts. Then place this in a larger box (look for boxes for guitar cases, I had to get one custom made), fill that with peanuts too. You might be able to get by with just one box with electric guitars but if it's for sale, I'd err on the side of caution considering that UPS loves to damage packages.

If you are assembling boxes because you can't find something large, make sure you HOT GLUE them together... tape isn't strong enough to hold everything together. Also fiber reinforced gum tape works very well for sealing boxes.

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
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Wouldn't it make sense to just go ahead and buy a cheap case instead of using newspaper, bubble wrap, etc?

Whatever you do, double box it.

I was thinking the same thing.

If you get a box from a music store, get one for an electric and also one for an acoustic to double-box it.

Pat

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formerly known around here as burbank
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